A 911 Tribute
by Rubicksmaster
Summary: This is a tribute I wrote where the Homestuck trolls go through 9/11. Told in Karkat's POV. Rated T for language, but people younger can read.
1. Chapter 1

**So, this is my first fanfiction being published(Yay!). I will admit, I was kind of sad that no one uploaded a tribute to 9/11 yet. Yeah, I know this is late, but it still has the same meaning. This is humanstuck, and it only features the trolls. It's in Karkat's POV, so of course it is rated T for bad language. I don't own anything, if I did Nepeta wouldn't have died.**

We were in third grade, and some absolute fucking genius decided that we should go to the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. The class had thirty kids in it, but I was staying with my eleven friends. Well, three friends and eight assholes. We were lagging behind the group by at least two floors, which might have been what saved us.

"This thuckth," Sollux, my best friend, deadpanned. "Like, why the hell are we even here?"

"To see one of the great landmarks in New York City. Although it is rather boring, isn't it," my other friend Kanaya replied.

"I think you all are being silly. History's great!" Aradia exclaimed. Sollux smiled at her, and she blushed. God, when were they going to get together?

"Boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring! When is something awesome going to happen. Tavros, this is all your fault!" Vriska yelled.

"Uh, what do you mean?" he asked nervously. Vriska yelled at him like the spiderbitch she is, but I tuned them out. Gamzee, the only third grader to have discovered pot, was staring out the window.

"What the hell are you looking at?" I asked

"Well, my best bro, I see a plane. I think it's coming motherfucking straight at us." I slapped my head so hard, it caught everyone elses attention.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Kar?" the wannabe wizard asked.

"Shut up, Ampora!" I shouted. I took a deep breath, then started again. "The clown worshipper said there was a plane heading straight for us." Gamzee wasn't even insulted by this, and only gave everyone a thumbs-up.

"But there is," Nepeta said. And, sure enough, there it was. A plane not too far away was nearing the building.

"Bull, it'll probably just fly around us and let the people wave or something," whined Eridan.

"I'm not sure. I think something bad might happen. Let's go down a few floors. We're far enough from the group as it is, so it shouldn't matter," said Terezi. She was my other friend And I may have had the smallest of crushes on her. Really fucking small though. Don't get any bullshit ideas.

"I think you're all being retarded," Vriska commented.

"I am not risking my friend's safety. Come, Nepeta", said the boy who was raised on steroids and growth hormones. Nepeta hopped onto Equius's back, and he walked away.

"And as your leader, I say we should follow them. Come on, morons," I said. I'm not sure why I decided to follow Equius and Nepeta. Everyone said it was because I wanted to suck up to Terezi (which I didn't and they only thought that because they are little shits), but maybe I just knew what was going to happen. I know, I was one fucked up eight year old.

It must have been the same with everyone else, because they listened to me for once. We were able to get to the thirty-sixth floor before the entire building shook. I toppled onto Terezi, to which she replied by saying, "Why hello Karkles," and cackling like a batshit crazy woman. We all got up.

"What the motherfuck just happened?" Gamzee asked.

"I don't know. Move it, people, we should get the hell out of here!" I yelled. We started running down the stairs, with Tavros leading us and Vriska coming close behind. I don't know exactly when, but debris started to fall down from the ceiling. When we reached the twenty-ninth floor, the stairway was blocked off and we were in a crowd of other people trying to get out. I was almost trampled by some guy at one point. I know such fucking courtesy. Men before fucking children.

"There thould be another thtairway," Sollux said.

"Wait Sollux! My brother is still with the teacher. Shouldn't I go find him?" Aradia asked. Her twin brother, Aaron, was younger than her by ten minutes, and she acted like a guardian angel over him.

"AA, it'll all be okay. I thwear. We need to get out of here though, tho he ithn't all alone when he getth out, Sollux replied grabbing her hand and leading us to the other stairway.

The other stairway was still open, but it wouldn't be for long. I kept having to drag Feferi and Nepeta, as they were convinced they could help the people who were trapped. i told them that if we helped them then we would all die, and that shut them the twentieth floor, Fires had started in the building. Tavros and Vriska were still ahead, but everyone was exhausted. With the exception of Equius.

Before we started to descend again, Tavros stopped abruptly. A chunk of concrete was in the middle of the stairs. Vriska bumped into him, and he fell down the stairs. To make matters worse, once he started to get up, a random piece of steel fell on his legs. "Equius, do something!" Nepeta shouted.

Gamzee beat Equius to the punch. He easily picked up the steel and tossed it away. Then he scooped down and picked Tavros up. "Come on, fuckers!" he yelled, running away with Tavros, who had tears streaking down his listened to him, out of fear more than anything. He had always been so calm, and I had never seen him yell.

By the thirteenth floor, we were running on pure adrenaline. Equius was leaving fucking puddles of sweat behind him, even though he wasn't tired.

The fires were spreading. Vriska was now ahead, and Terezi and Sollux were behind her. It didn't work out for them though. The fire must have touched something flammable, and there was a small explosion. All of us looked away in time, except for Terezi and Sollux. They just stared at the fire, not moving. Vriska got the worst of it. The explosion blew of her arm, and her eye was covered in blood. She laid there, unconscious and bleeding heavily.

"Eridan, take of your stupid cape!" Feferi yelled.

"Hell no. It's my cape, and I'm not giving it to her because she's mean and insults wizards." Feferi huffed and ripped the cape off of his shoulders. "Hey!" Eridan yelled, but Feferi ignored him and wrapped the cape tightly around Vriska's shoulder in a weak attempt to stop the bleeding.

"Equius, can you please carry Vriska? she asked. Equius obeyed, and we started running again.

"Wait," Terezi said, and I stopped. She hadn't moved. "I can't see anything." I groaned and grabbed her hand, showing her the way. And I definitely wasn't blushing. I fucking swear.

Maybe whatever God up there thought we had enough problems, because we got out of the building without anymore trouble. This guy, Jack Noir, called an ambulance, and they took Vriska, Terezi and Tavros to a hospital. Jack asked us if we needed him to take us to our houses, bu Aradia said no. Then I noticed that she and Sollux were still holding hands, and Sollux was looking in the opposite direction.

"Hey dude, what's the matter?" I asked.

"Everything ith really blurry, KK. Like, thit, I can't thee that well. Didn't TZ go blind? What if I'm blind?" he asked.

"Oh no! Are you okay? Can you still see?" Feferi asked, instantly fussing over him. Eridan growled.

"Yeah FF. I'm fine, don't worry." We waited out there with Jack until or parents found us, each of them hugging us tightly. We told Tavros's dad, Terezi's mom, and Vriska's mom that they were at the hospital, and they were fine. Aradia told her mom that she was waiting for Aaron.

I'm going to end this here. I know you know what happened to Aaron, because you are him. This was Aradia's idea, you know. She always makes us write letters on 9/11 to you about how much we miss you. And, don't get me wrong, you weren't as fucking stupid as my other friends, but I'm tired of telling you about how we miss you. You get twelve letters saying that every year, and if it's depressing for me to write one, then you must be pretty fucking sad to read all of these.

So I figured I'd tell you what hapenned. Vriska survived (she said she had all of the luck), Terezi coped with being blind, and Tavros had his legs amputated. Sollux needs special glasses that look like 3D glasses. Equius got really good with machines, and was able to build a new arm for Vriska and legs for Tavros.

Aradia was so different after you died. She was so depressed, and it got worse when Sollux started dating Feferi, and she started to cut herself. Damara decided to act like a good sister, and she helped her through it. We all tried to protect her. Eventually, her and Sollux did hook up. They're still together, and will probably never leave eachother.

We met four kids, who each had someone die in 9/11. There's John fucking Egbert, who lost his dad and had to move in with his older cousin Jane. He's annoying, and always pulls his dumbass prank shit on me.

Then there's Rose Lalonde. She's confusing, and doesn't make sense to anyone with a normal fucking IQ. Her mom died, and her older sister Roxy took care of her. Rose got into really bad drinking problems, and Kanaya helped her through that.

Dave Strider is the 'cool kid'. He's 'ironic' and really sarcastic. The most fucking annoying of them for sure. His oldest brother died saving him and his other older brother Dirk. Dirk didn't seem to care at all. I don't think he actually has a heart. Dave tries to act like that, but it's pretty fucking obvious that it still hurts.

Jade Harley is the last of them. She's always so nice and cheery, even after her grandfather died and her dog had to look after her and her extremely immature older cousin Jake.

I think I'm done now. What more is there to say? Whatever, I'm done here. Bye Aaron.

~Karkat

**How was that? Love it? Hate it? Tell me in the reviews! If you guys want me to turn this into a two-shot, just tell me. I already have an idea. Any who, for anyone who lost someone in 9/11, I am so sorry if I brought up bad memories. God bless the brave souls that risked their lives that day.**

**Okay, I'm out.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright, you guys were so nice in the reviews. Thank you to all the reviewers and people who favorited and followed my story, I seriously had this ginormous goofy grin on my face for an hour. A big thank you to cloudsdale for being my FIRST REVIEWER EVER! Really, it means so much to me that all of you reviewed.**

I figured I should make this chapter a bit happier, because I am not a big fan of sadstuck either. Think of this as the calm after the storm. Once again, told in Karkat's POV. I'll try not to add any ships, but if I do they won't be major.

A little tradition that Aradia had made was for everyone to meet the first saturday after 9/11. We would watch a movie, then go to a really underground restaurant and feast like fucking pigs.

Our movie night this year was at Feferi's place, and I wasn't complaining. Her family was rich, and her house was by our college. In her basement was a pool, a bowling lane, a bar, an arcade room and a theatre. Was I excited? Fuck yeah.

However, my internet movies only made me enough money to survive, and I didn't own a car. So I had to ask the biggest fuckass in the history of fuckasses for a ride. So my older brother Kankri drove me to Feferi's house.

For the entire ride, he was silent, which was suprising because the only thing able to shut him up was peanut butter. When we got there I broke the silence. "Aren't you going to give me some dumbass wise words and shitty trigger warnings? Seriously, you're making me really fucking nervous."

"No. I know how hard this is for you and your friends. And it is a better outlet for Aradia, definantely better than her old outlet," he replied. I got out of the shitty lemon he drove, and waved him away. I guess this was the only time I liked Kankri. When he actually fucking talked to me instead of ranting all the fucking time.

I rang the doorbell and looked at the house. Damn, this place is huge. Feferi answered. "Hey Karkat! How are you?" she exclaimed.

"Fine. anyone else here?" I asked.

"Yeah, Eridan got here first, Sollux and Aradia are downstairs playing video games, and Nepeta is coloring," she visibly deflated at the mention of Sollux and Aradia. She still loved Sollux, but never spoke her feelings. She cared about Aradia just as much as Sollux did.

"Do you know who's driving Terezi?" I asked as we went to the basement. She smiled at me and didn't answer. "What?"

"Nothing," she replied smugly. "I think Kanaya is driving her. Either that or she's walking. And it's okay to care for someone."

"Not when that someone hates you," I said. We remained silent for the rest of the walk. Shit, her house was huge. I swear, someone could get lost and die in here.

We got into her amazing and Aradia had decided to make out on the couch, and I led Feferi away. Eridan was swimming, but Nepeta was nowhere to be seen.

Something jumped on me, and it toppled me over. There's Nepeta. "Hi Karkitty!"

"Get the fuck off me Nepeta!" I obeyed and helped me up.

"The powerful lioness asks the almighty leader how he is doing, and if he had a nice week."

"The almighty leader says roleplay is extremely fucking stupid. School sucks, and everyone is an asshole."

"Aren't John and Dave in your film-making class?" she asked. I nodded. "Oh. Well, I had so much fun! Acting is such a great class, and so is biology! Too bad no one else is in it. How was your week, Feferi?"

"Im doing good. It can be reely gross when you work with medicine though. But I can't wait to help all the animals out there!"

"Yeah, while you two be girly and shit, I'm going to find a decent movie." I left the two and went up to the movie rack. The Piexes were loaded with every movie available, from Disney to horror to romcoms, and musicals and action. Even the really shitty ones that John would beg to own. I picked out the movie Con Air. It fucking sucked, but it would be good for us to watch it and laugh away the problems. It's the only thing that movies fucking good at.

Everyone else got here, with the exception of Gamzee, Dave and Terezi. Gamzee was probably passed out on the ground of his house, and Dave was fashionably late. I guess Terezi was just busy or something.

"Should I call my half-brother? I am actually worried about him," Rose said.

"And I should, uh, at least text Gamzee," said Tavros.

"Gam will just fall through the fuckin' ceilin' in five minutes," Eridan said.

"I bet you twenty buckth it'll take ten minuteth," said Sollux. THe two shook hands, and Sollux checked his watch. Within nine minutes and fifty-five seconds, Gamzee fell down the stairs. Eridan handed Sollux a twenty.

Dave came a few minutes later with Terezi. When we were younger, she would have jumped on top of me and wouldn't have left until I screamed a string of curses. Now she just ignored me.

I put in the movie, and John flipped his shit. "Oh my god yes, I haven't seen this in years. Nick Cage is so. Cool."

We watched the movie. I was trying my best to not yell at how fucking bad it was. Sollux then poked me. "What the fuck do you want?"

"KK, why did you put thith on? It hath a plane dude. You literally dethided to watch a movie about criminalth hijacking a plane. The weekend after 9/11. Way to fucking go." Shit. I totally forgot.

"I wanted to watch a shitty movie so we could laugh at the shittiness."

"Why didn't you put on a Dithney movie or thomething? FF doeth own The Little Mermaid, you know. Why not the Lion King? Thomething not violent, maybe?"

"I don't fucking know! Just shut the fuck up, please!" Sollux stopped and hugged Aradia closer to him. He shot me a look that said: You are going to feel so fucking guilty after this.

By the end of the movie, we were all in tears, even though Dave wouldn't show it. Aradia and John were bawling (although John probably would have cried regardless), Rose had found her way to the alcohol, and Jade had her face pressed against Dave's shirt, where a noticable puddle was growing. We skipped the dinner and left.

I had told Kankri to pick me up at nine, and it was seven-thirty. I was too fucking tired to have him lecture me, and decided to walk to a nearby park.

"Karkat wait up!" I turned around. Terezi was running towards me.

"What do you want Pyrope?" I growled.

"Why the hell did you put that movie on?"

"I wanted to watch a movie to remind us of the fucking horrors we've been through, now please fucking leave me alone." She raised an eyebrow.

"I can smell the lies, Karkat. Tell the truth."

I glared at her and threw my arms up in the air in frustration. "I don't know! I guess I wanted to watch the movie because it was so stupid, and I forgot that the plane was in it!"

"The entire movie was on the plane."

"I know! I fucking know, and I'm fucking sorry. I know Aradia never got over Aaron, and I'm sorry! Just leave me alone!"

"Why are you crying?" she asked, surprisingly gentle. I felt my cheeks. They were indeed wet with tears. "Are you okay."

"No," I muttered.

"That's okay. I don't think any of us will be fine, not after what we have been through. But that isn't a bad thing. We just have to move on." She grabbed my hand. "Mind walking me home?"

"Not at all," I replied. Maybe she was right. Maybe we did just have to move on. Maybe one day, we would stop writing letters to Aaron. Maybe one day, we wouldn't be pained. Maybe one day, we would move on.

**And I have finished my first fanfiction! So, I hope this is happier than the first chapter, and that you guys liked it. Leave a review if you think I should post a new story, and tell me if there is anything I should work on.**

**Alright, I'm out.**


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